In stockpot add butter and onions, cook over med-high heat for about 5 minutes.Add sliced potatoes, onions and chicken broth, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, add Garlic Goodness and cook until potatoes are tender.Remove from heat, with an immersion blender blend until smooth or leave a little chunky. If using a blender, blend in batches, just make sure the center of the blend lid is removed, place a towel over top of the lid.Once blended add back to pot, add salt and add half and half, warm on low and serve.Optional – Add onions straws and chives for a garnish.

In a large stock pot over med-high heat bring broth to a boil, covered, then add rice, chicken and seasonings, cover and reduce to low until rice is cooked. In a medium bowl add water and cornstarch and whisk, then add eggs and beat until completely blended, whisk in lemon juice. Take 4 cups of the hot soup and slowly add to the egg mixture while whisking constantly so that the mixture will not break. Stir mixture into the rest of the soup. Season to taste and serve immediately, garnish each bowl with a lemon slice and a few baby spinach leaves.

Paired with Leffe Beer

Pho Bo (Vietnamese Soup, this picture was taken before broth was added)

I know, I know I have not blogged in forever, but I have been very busy with work and other things.

Plus I don’t cook up a ton of things for me on a daily basis, and when I do cook for my family I am so busy doing multiple things that I forget to take pictures, and if I do I don’t often have a lot of time to blog it all out. So I am sorry for those who care, and I will try harder this upcoming year!!

So this would be something I would not blog about since its just something plan I would come up with, but I thought I just better share this to let everyone know I am still kickin 🙂 LOL

So yesterday on my day off I thought okay you have stuff in the fridge you need to use, so I made Soup.

I call it “Winter Soup” or “What else can I put in this” Soup 🙂 LOL

I also had gotten a four pack of bone-in chicken breast out of the freezer to make some room 😛

Okay so I don’t have a recipe here because really it was a what can I throw into this pot kind of soup.

And I think that is what we all need to think more of when we have things in our fridges that need to be used. Or your pantry, heck if you have can veggies do it, or cans of tomatoes or sauce, what about pasta or rice, your options are endless!!!

So this is what I started with, cabbage, zucchini, carrots and beans.

Chopped it all up and I added about 2 cups of chicken broth(had some left in the fridge), I cooked it in the oven on 325 degrees for 2 hours

then I added about 4 more cups of broth, I love using “better than bullion” soup base, so I had a little beef flavor left scraped that in there and then some Turkey. Just mix that up with 4 cups of hot water added a onion power and dill. I love dill in soup, and I love using the tube herbs, I just don’t use fresh herbs quick enough so I do buy some of those tube herbs you can find in your produce dept. So whisked all that up and poured it right on in.

Cooked at 350 degrees now for about 1 hour, then I added the beans about 4 cups, not that whole jar, mixed, then check for seasonings, I add some crushed celery seed, more tube dill, kosher salt and white pepper. Back in the oven for 30 minutes.

adding the celery seed and my tube dill 🙂

Like I said I had chicken breast, so I just bought a new kitchen gadget, it was my Christmas present to myself…

Table Top Halogen Oven

Now I love it, the first thing I cooked in it was a Steak, a Frozen Steak!!! Steak (bone-in rib eye) was about 1 inch thick, I took it out of the freezer, salted and peppered each side, and in 25 minutes I had the most perfect medium rare steak…It was delish!!!

Now I know the haters are going to hate, I NOT telling you buy it, this just works for me and I like it 🙂

So I put two of the chicken breast in it and let it go, yes can I use the oven, of course, but I like this and wanted to use it, I can see it cooking and like the easiness 🙂

So here’s my chicken cooking, of course once it was done again I forgot to take pictures…sorry, but it they looked great.

So I shredded some of the chicken

and added it to the soup, and it was done and ready to eat.

I have soup for the next week and I frozen half of it too, I like doing this so its easy to bring out and heat out when you need something quick.

So what do you have in your fridge right now that you can throw into a pot and make your own

As I have mentioned in a recent post my Dad has a garden and so another vegetable that has been a plenty is Eggplants.Most of the summer, I would grill them or just roast them in the oven, and a couple of times I made Eggplant Parmesan. I would post my pictures on facebook and of course my friends say tell me the recipe.

So this last time I tried to remember as making it to take pictures of the process and what I do 🙂

First I used my homemade tomato sauce that I made out of the tomatoes from my Dad’s garden and I love using Fresh Mozzarella 🙂

So enjoy!!

First I peeled, sliced then sprinkled slices with salt in a colanderfor 30-40 minutes, then pat each slice dry with paper towel. (LOL of course the first picture of that I forgot to take)Then place them on a baking sheet

I took panko bread crumbs and fresh grated Parmesan Cheese

Mixed in some Sandwich Sprinkle from Penzeys(coarse salt,garlic, black pepper, basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme and marjoram)
you can add Italian seasonings as well

Put about 2 Tbsp. on mixture on top of each slice

with your hand press down crumb mixture

Then I sprayed each piece with PAM – Olive oil sprayof course you could drizzle with olive oil if you wish too.

Then bake in a 385 degree oven until tops are brown

Sauce you can use any you like, so pick your favoriteI used my homemade sauce and I addedsome of the Sandwich Sprinkle to the sauce

I have some Fresh Sliced Mozzarella

In a sprayed baking dish, place a eggplant downand top with sauce

Then top with a slice of mozzarella

Place another piece of eggplant and repeatwith sauce and cheese

I topped the final piece of cheese with the rest of the sauce

I had crumb mixture leftover

and I sprinkled some over top the entire dishAnd bake at 385 degrees until brown

and cheese is melted and brown

This was so good, most of the time I don’t measure anything so whenI cook unless I write it down it really just turns out to what I have in my pantry and such. So when I am experimenting and it turns out good, I have to remember what I did so I can share in a blog, and then most the time I don’t take picture either 😛 LOLThe last time I made this (pictures below), I did the same except I didn’t haveany crumb mixture left, so I sprinkle the final layer with a little parmesan chesse

They both turned out delicious 😛 so as you make yours just make to what you like andit will be just as Delicious!!

Sprinkle each slice of eggplant both sides lightly with salt, place slice in colander in the sink,let set for 30-40 mins. Then pat each piece with a paper towel, doing this helps draw out the bitterness that some eggplants tend to have.

In a bowl add panko, Parmesan and 2 Tbsp. seasonings; mix together. Place slices on a baking sheet and put about 1- 1 1/2 Tbsp. of mixture on top, press mixture down with hand then spray with olive oil spray.Crumb mixture does fly around a little that is why I press down the mixture, you can drizzle tops with olive oil if you wish. Bake at 385 degrees until tops are brown about 25 minutes or so.

Meanwhile get your tomato sauce ready, mix in 1 Tbsp. seasoning, have mozzarella slices ready.Spray a baking dish that will hold the amount you are making.

Once eggplant tops have browned, place half the slice in the baking dish, top with 1 – 1 1/2 Tbsp. sauce,then a slice of cheese, repeat again, eggplant, sauce and cheese.At this point you can top each stack with leftover sauce and sprinkle with any left over crumb mixture, or just sprinkle some a little Parmesan cheese over top. Bake at 385 degrees until light brown and cheese is bubbly.

You can really make this your own, you like more sauce use more sauce, or cheese even, if you want to stack 3 high then stack 3 high. These a great meal served with a simple salad on the side.

My Dad’s garden is producing a plenty, his plants are 8 feet tall and going wild!!!

I have a few pictures here from the beginning stages, they are about 5 to almost 6 foot at this point, my Dad here is growing, leaf lettuce, kale, peppers, cucumbers, onions, green beans, eggplants and of course Tomatoes!!! There maybe be more he grows but I can remember, I do know he has another patch that asparagus is in and the green house that things grow too…

but I just decided to write this blog about tomatoes last night, so I don’t have recent pictures of it 🙂 these picture were about the 2nd week of June

So I have been eating a lot of tomatoes lately, but they have really only been from my Dad’s, I don’t buy them usually, but I do love when I get them from him and his garden.

As anyone knows they just taste better than you can get in the store and it’s really the only eat time I do eat them. My Mom and Dad will freeze them, stew them, roast them, sauce them, slice them for BLT (which I think they east daily during the summer) and chop them for salads. Plus whatever else they do with them 🙂

I on the other hand I tend to eat them a little differently 🙂

First I blanch them and remove the skins, I have issues with the skins, that’s all I will say 🙂

Here are a few pictures of ways that I have enjoyed using my Dad’s fresh tomatoes from his garden.

I hope you will enjoy too!!!

Making sauce, in my Vitamix are tomatoes, roasted garlic, some Italian herbs, red pepper flakes and salt.
The Vitamix will also cook it too you let it run about 5-7 minutes and you have hot soup or sauce 🙂

Mixing it all up

Freezing some for winter 🙂

Cooking some down too

This is the cherry tomatoes, sauteed with garlic, onions and spinach tossed with the pasta, then fold in some fresh mozzarella pearls then a drizzle of some balsamic glaze…Delish!!!!

My all time favorite thing in the world is Polenta with fresh tomatoes and a poached egg!!! This is heaven for me!!!

another day again…YUMMY!!!

This is my FBT…Fake bacon and tomato 😛

Ran out of the cornmeal to make polenta So I made couscous instead…Delish too!!!

This was last night’s dinner tomatoes, roasted garlic tossed with pasta and some fresh mozzarella cubes I was talking about making this a work…so ladies this is what I made…simple and quick 🙂

Oh and here is the kale and I made some kale chips…very good with a sprinkle of kosher salt and garlic powder 🙂

Here are couple of links of 2 more of my blogs that I used tomatoes in the pastFirst up is my Tomato Cobbler – this turned out really really good so if youwant something a little different try this recipe.

Well if you are not a sports fan and don’t live in Cincinnati, then you may not even know what I am talking about 🙂 but for a year the city has been planning for Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game.

Let me say the city was crazy, I did go downtown a couple of days but if you didn’t get down there early to find a parking space, lot or garage it was nuts. So to say the least I just drove around and then went back across the river 😛

But the Home Run Derby was exciting since Todd Frazier of the Cincinnati Reds won it this year!!!

All and all I think Cincinnati and Northern Ky. did an outstanding job hosting this years All-Star Game.

I did take some pictures, I have some here that friends took as well, but as I say it was an “All-Star Week”

There were are couple birthdays in our family and of course I made a few things, so check out my pictures and enjoy!!!

First of the birthdays was my little niece I made cupcakes 🙂

She likes presents and bubbles 🙂

Around town they made these mustaches statues here are few of them

here is the picture of all of them that they made, pretty cool 🙂

Here are few of my souvenirs

Buskin Bakery made the cookies got to love that!!

Here are some pictures of the Red Carpet Parade,
the players start at their hotel and end at the ball park, all on red carpet 🙂
Grand Marshall – Barry Larkin

But this summer has been busy and I can’t believe its JULY!!!! I have my hand in so many different little things that I am just so busy and it’s been hard to find the time to blog. Plus I have not been cooking anything really good for myself, so hence no blogs.

But I did finish a couple weeks ago a cooking class series that I did in 3 of our stores 🙂

They all turned out great, a lot of grilling and a few out of the box recipes, beer sampling with one too!!

Here are a few pictures of the dishes and the crowds, it was a great time and I had a LOT of help from some of GREAT co-workers.

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Chef Amy

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